Downtown Aurora is throwing open its doors for a combined Halloween and Día de los Muertos celebration on Saturday, October 24, with daytime trick-or-treating at local shops giving way to an evening of live music, altars, and a drone light show over the Fox River corridor. The event runs across much of the day, with trick-or-treating at businesses along River Street, Stolp Avenue, and Galena Boulevard from noon to 3 p.m., before the Día de los Muertos programming kicks off at 5 p.m.
According to the City of Aurora, IL, Government, the afternoon trick-or-treating segment includes a candy station and arts and crafts corners for families working their way down the three downtown streets. Once the evening portion begins, the celebration shifts tone with live music, face painting, and educational exhibits about Día de los Muertos traditions, plus pan de muerto and hot chocolate for attendees. Kidlist lists the event as running from noon to 8 p.m.; the celebration closes with a drone light show.
The District and the Festival
The Aurora Downtown District is associated with the festival. Hoodline reported that local stakeholders established the district in April and that SSA tax funds were approved for it; the outlet also covered a proposed replacement levy for SSA 1.
The evening will include an altar display.
Día de los Muertos Traditions at the Festival
Día de los Muertos traditions feature in the festival's evening program, which includes educational exhibits.
Aurora's downtown sits along the Fox River, 41 miles west of Chicago, and the city itself extends across four counties — Kane, DuPage, Kendall, and Will — making its historic downtown streets a natural hub for multi-county gatherings, per the Aurora Public Library District.
